Positive mental health moderates the association between suicide ideation and suicide attempts

Abstract

Background: Positive mental health (PMH) has been shown to confer resilience against suicide ideation. However, it is unclear, whether PMH also buffers the relationship between suicide ideation and suicide attempts. The current study aimed to determine whether PMH moderates the association between lifetime suicide ideation and lifetime suicide attempts.

Methods: A total of 199 psychiatric inpatients with lifetime suicide attempts (female: n = 109; age: M = 37.56, SD = 14.38, range: 18-81) were interviewed on lifetime suicide ideation/behavior and completed a measure on PMH.

Results: PMH moderated the impact of lifetime suicide ideation on lifetime suicide attempts: For those individuals who reported high levels of PMH, the rate of lifetime suicide attempts was reduced even when experiencing frequent episodes of lifetime suicide ideation.

Limitations: Given the cross-sectional nature of the data, conclusions on causality should be handled carefully.

Conclusion: PMH seems to confer resilience and should be taken into account, when assessing individuals for suicide risk.

Keywords: Positive mental health; Resilience; Suicide attempt; Suicide ideation.